After years of hope caused by multiple community leaks, the Source 2 engine is reportedly being implemented in Counter-Strike. Journalist Richard Lewis reported on his Substack that Valve will launch a beta product called Counter-Strike 2 at the end of March 2023, which could redefine the future of the game’s esports scene.
Not only will the new Counter-Strike game bring new mechanics and better graphics, but it also could attract players who left the esports scene to compete elsewhere if organizations from all around the world pour more money into Counter-Strike esports in case the game is successful.
When CS:GO launched in 2012, it took a while for professional players to make the switch from Counter-Strike: Source or even Counter-Strike: 1.6 because CS:GO had all kinds of bugs in the beginning and the gameplay needed to be polished. Ninjas in Pyjamas were one of the first teams to fully commit to CS:GO and they went on to dominate the scene in its early years, accomplishing an 87-0 map win streak on LAN between 2012 and 2013, and winning several tournaments, including the ESL One Cologne Major in August 2014.
Will CS:GO tournaments switch to Counter-Strike 2?
There is one CS:GO Major announced for 2023, the BLAST Paris Major in May. The Majors are sponsored by Valve and besides the prize pool, professional players and organizations also earn money from in-game stickers at each Major. It’s unlikely that Valve will force teams to play Counter-Strike 2 instead of CS:GO during the BLAST Paris Major because of the lack of time to learn the game.
Dot Esports has reached out to ESL and BLAST, the two leading tournament organizers in CS:GO esports, and asked about their plans for the future. ESL told Dot Esports it will stick to CS:GO until it’s “reasonable to move to the rumored Counter-Strike 2” and BLAST refused to comment on the Counter-Strike 2 topic, stating it doesn’t have anything to say or add at the moment.
ESL is currently partnered with 15 CS:GO teams, who are granted a slot in the ESL Pro League and other events, while BLAST is partnered with 12 CS:GO teams that attend the Premier circuit. ESL and BLAST will likely dictate when the rest of the tournament organizers will make the switch because of their importance in the scene at the moment.
